“Vaccination desserts” identified in northern, rural and French-speaking Ontario

ew research out of the University of Waterloo has identified “vaccination deserts” in parts of northern and rural Ontario and in locations where French is predominantly spoken. These areas have little to no access to pharmacist-administered vaccination sites for COVID vaccines or the flu shot.

Researchers used provincial and Statistics Canada data to determine where pharmacists are working in relation to where Ontarians live. They found that most community pharmacists authorized to administer injections work in the urban regions of southern Ontario, confirming a large geographic discrepancy.

“Our biggest realization is that there are many communities that do not have local access to a pharmacy at all,” said Dr. Sherilyn Houle, a professor at Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy and co-author of the study. “While medication can be delivered remotely and virtual care can be used for offsite counselling, access to vaccinations will need a more innovative approach.”